How to Dress As Adam Ant (Pirate/Highway Man Era)

Last Updated: February 1, 2023

Adam Ant (born Stuart Goddard) was a hugely popular British singer in the early '80s, commonly associated with Adam and the Ants, a New Wave band most know for the album "Kings Of The Wild Frontier." Adam Ant was known for his iconic styles of dress, influenced by classical romantic looks and 16th century pirates, blended with a new wave/punk twist.

Adam Ant's maternal grandfather, Walter Albany Smith, was a full-blooded Romanichal (English) traveller, and he dresses with a Romani-like edge.

Here's what you need to know:

Steps

1
Start with a shirt, which can be either black or white. The style should be more 18th Century than modern day, with long sleeves and a ruffle collar and cuffs. Tuck the shirt into the trousers.
2
Choose trousers - they should be tight, the most basic being black skinny jeans. Stitch gold piping down the length of the outside seam, imitating formal military dress. Or, you could try black leather trousers, or silver spandex, or wet look leggings.

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3
Select footwear, preferably knee, or thigh high black boots, with a wide top, with a flat heel. These can be either lace up or pull on. Feel free to tie a gold scarf or ribbon around the top of one - RE the Stand And Deliver music video.
4
Wear wide, leather belts, with chunky gold or silver buckles - either square, or possibly skull shaped. Wear one or two (if two, one can be studded). Tie square scarves to one side of the belt, in either red, white or black.
5
Try to find a formal military jacket, the type with a lot of gold striping and epaulets, either waist length, or longer in the back. These can be very hard to find, and are usually expensive, but it is possible to get copies, or low quality versions from fancy dress, or second hand shops (Adam Ant's own "Prince Charming" jacket was on long term loan).
6
Wear a lot of jewelry, big silver skull shaped rings, for example. Wear one small, gold hooped earring, in the left ear, with a skull shaped charm hanging from it. Wear silver chains of various lengths around the neck, with crosses and skulls ect hanging from them.
7
If you want to copy the "Stand and Deliver" outfit, try to find a wide strapped white, or peach colored waistcoat (the style is known as a Regency waistcoat), with embroidery, along with a black tri-corn hat, and plain black eye mask. Wear a fluffy white feather in the brim on the hat.
8
To copy the "Prince Charming" music video, button the shirt up to the top, and tie a red, white and green stripped scarf around your neck in a floppy bow, which can be tucked into the jacket. Wear a wide, baby blue plastic belt around your waist.
9
Paint your nails either black, or purple with a gold stripe down the center.
10
Style your hair. Adam Ant has very dark hair, which is naturally very curly. This is easy to replicate with a wash-in-wash-out hair dye, and a small size curling iron. You can get Adam Ant style wigs, but these are often horrible quality.
11
Use very thin red, gold and green ribbon to create tiny plaits, one hanging onto your forehead, and several either side of your face.
12
Get the right makeup. For the iconic Adam Ant look, use good quality, pure white face paint, to draw a stripe across your face, from the top of one cheekbone, across your nose, to the other. Use black eye liner to outline the eyes and no not smudge it. The line should be stark, right around with a slight flick at the inner and outer corners. Use the same eyeliner to draw lines, starting in the hollow between your cheekbone and jaw, and fading inwards to just above the mouth, on either side of your face. Optional - use a touch of purple eye shadow on your eyelids, and a little clear, or peach colored lip gloss.